In Which Castiel is Allowed to Drive
by Unity of Moon and Sun
Summary: While on a joy ride with his baby, Castiel comes to Dean with a small problem that's quickly overlooked when the angel is handed the wheel. Set during S5.


**AN -So this is my first attempt at writing fanfiction from a fandom that actually has set personalities. I hope I did ok. ;A;**

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><p>There was a rumbling in the distance. The unmistakable rumbling of thunder in preperation to bring about one hell of a storm. The road ahead was shadowed and cooled by the dark clouds that were smothering the blue sky above them which was a big difference from the Floridian brand of heat stroke it had recieved the previous day. On either side of the stretch of pavement, different creatures (supernatural or other) took shelter beneath the forests of untouched pine trees, trying to escape the impending rain and perhaps trying to find a warmer spot to keep during.<p>

But the eldest Winchester couldn't feel a damn thing.

His fingers tightened around the wheel of his beloved Impala as she and he sped down the stretch of wooded highway. They had to be going at least eighty-five and with the windows down, the cold wind blowing through his short cut, and Metallica blaring on his radio, Dean couldn't feel more content. This was his happy place. On the road with his baby. It was one of his and Sam's rare days off, and while Sam decided to stay around the motel and research for their next hunt, Dean took a drive.

It had been a while since he and his baby had had any alone time together. It had been a long time since Dean had a little Dean time. He loved Sam, he really did, but at the same time he couldn't take all the constant arguments. He just needed to blow off some bottled up steam, needed to forget about the Apocolypse for a little while. After that they could focus on finding Lucifer. But, for now, he was enjoying himself.

He found that he kind of liked Florida. It was hot as hell and kind of expensive in the tourist traps but overall it was a nice place to be. Beautiful beaches, even better looking girls, and plenty of bars and diners. But best of all were the highways. The nearly empty highways. Especially with weather like this, the road was dead save for the Imapala. Dean had only passed about one or two cars since he hit the main way about an hour ago. Sam had called only once since then to check on him but, that was ok. This was Dean time after all. Or at least it was supposed to be.

With the unmistakable sound of ruffling feathers in his ear, Dean turned to the passenger seat and felt himself jump in his own before turning back to the road and switching off his music.

"Damnit, Cas..." He sighed. He was _never_ going to get used to that.

"Hello...Dean..." Dean slowed the car, hearing the exhaustion in his friends voice. He took a more prolonged look at his friend this time.

"Hey, Cas, are you alright, man?" Dean asked, suddenly worried. Castiel's nose and mouth were dripping blood. There were a few cuts on what little exposed skin he had and his trenchcoat was dotted with blood. Whether or not it was his own, Dean couldn't tell.

"Angels...I was ambushed. I was wounded." Castiel managed to pant out, letting his head rest against the back of the seat. His arm was wrapped around his abdomen as if it hurt but, the trench stoppped Dean from seeing any wound.

"I'll be fine...I just need to rest. Reginerate." The angel continued, seeing the obvious worry on his human's face.

"Well, you just sit tight then." Dean nodded, turning back to the road. His speed had dropped significantly, now only going about thirty-five but, that was ok. Not like his baby couldn't kick back into gear.

"How'd you even find me? Those little tattoos you gave our ribs should hide us from you, right?" The Impala purred in delight as Dean's foot nudged the gas pedal. She always liked going fast.

"Sam told me. When I called him he assumed I sought you and told me where you went. It was faster just to come here than to explain myself to him."

"Is it _that_ bad?" Dean took another look towards the spot Castiel was holding on his abdomen but the trench was so big and bulky he still couldn't see anything.

"An angel blade cut into me. Not deep but it will take longer to heal than it would if it were a normal blade. It's very draining to be cut even a little by one."

"Anything I can do to help things move along?" The corners of the angel's mouth twitched but Dean didn't notice, his eyes focused on the road and the purr of his baby.

"No. Just let me rest a bit." Dean pursed his lips, but nodded. This was supposed to be Dean time but, he could live with Dean and Cas time. He was his friend after all and injured on top of that.

They rode in silence for a long while, the only sounds being the purr from the Impala and their breathing. Dean had rolled up the windows, thinking maybe it would be more comfortable for Castiel. The angel said nothing about it, keeping his head back against the seat and his eyes closed. Every now and then he would make some noise, a hiss or a grunt from pain, and Dean would cast his eyes toward him to make sure he was still there and ok. Then he would look back at the road.

It must be hard for Castiel like this. When they'd first met, a wound like this wouldn't take this long to heal up but, being cut off from Heaven must be getting to him. Soon enough he wouldn't be able to regenerate at all. Then what? Something could go horribly wrong and the angel would be done. But, Dean wouldn't let that happen.

"Where is Sam, anyway? Why are you here by yourself?" Castiel finally spoke, easing the tension in the car. Dean rested back in his seat, loosening his grip on the wheel. His speed was up again, not as much as before but, enough.

"Back at the room. No jobs today. Just thought I'd take a little me time with my baby." He smiled as he pet the roof of the Impala, taking pride in his most valuable possesion. Castiel flinched, casting his eyes out the window.

"Oh... I am intruding then. My apologies..." He made to perhaps move to a different location to get out of Dean's hair, but a hand grasping the sleeve of his coat stopped him. He looked back towards Dean, who hadn't taken his eyes off the road.

"Don't you even think about going anywhere though. You sit tight. Can't have you dying on me." Castiel relaxed back into the seat, almost relieved. He felt better when around the Winchesters whether it be Sam or Dean, and he didn't want to sit this out by himself in fear of another ambush.

"I told you, I'll be fine, Dean. The wound is just about closed." He said, and it was true. He barely felt any of the pain now. A few more minutes and perhaps it would be completely gone.

"Well then, you can just finish up here. It's nice to have you around when there's no drama involved." Dean glanced at him, grin still intact, and then gave a short laugh. "Well, less drama than usual." Castiel's mouth twitched again in his small version of a smile. Dean liked to be in his presense as well. He wiped away a bit of blood from his mouth and stared at it on his hand. He never liked bleeding. It was messy, and hard to clean (or so Dean told him).

"Here." Dean reached into the back seat of the car and pulled one of own shirts from the floorboard where the rest of his and Sam's dirty clothes were waiting to be cleaned. Castiel was confused for a moment but, then realized what it was for when Dean gave him _that_ look. That look that asked if he seriously was that dense. He shrugged it off and used the shirt to wipe away the mess from his face, and his hands and a bit from his shirt around the wound. It had left a rather deep stain of red. Castiel would have to fix it later when he wasn't so drained. The shirt was dirty but, it smelled like nothing but a mix of Dean and the Impala and Castiel found that he liked the scent. When he was finished with the task he decided to keep it in his lap rather than toss it back into the floorboard.

Dean had gone back to focusing on the road and his car. He was back to eighty-five, skillfully turning twists and turns and easily passing a blue Prius that was going _way_ too slow. He couldn't resist the loud cry of enjoyment that both startled and fascinated his angelic companion.

"I've never understood why you enjoy this vehicle so much." Castiel said off handedly. Dean only shook his head.

"That's because you've always been in the passenger seat, Cas." Jade met sapphire as they turned toward each other. Dean with a knowing look and Castiel with his trademark confused puppy look. He couldn't understand the difference in seating. No matter where you were in the car it was always slow. Dean held the look for a brief moment before looking back out the windsheild and stepping on the brake to slow down the car. Castiel continued to stare at him, confused, until the Impala had completely stopped right in the middle of the road. It was placed into park.

"You wanna try?" Dean said, motioning to the wheel. Castiel looked between his friend and the wheel, unbelieving.

"To drive?" He asked. Dean grinned and nodded.

"You're gonna need to learn how eventually." Dean said and immediantly regretted it. Castiel wasn't stupid. He knew eventually even his power to fly would be gone. Then this would be his only way of transport. Despite the worry and pain at this thought, another emotion was completely overtaking the other two. Joy. Dean wanted him to drive the Impala. Dean _trusted_ him to drive the Impala.

"I would like that." Castiel agreed, smiling a little bit more than usual. Dean's grin grew as well. After switching places (which included Dean freaking out over the amount of blood on the angel's shirt) Castiel sat in the driver's seat, still warm from Dean's presense. In the passenger seat, Dean found a few spots of blood he would have to clean later but, he wouldn't worry about them now. Castiel listened carefully as Dean explained how to get the car back into drive and once he had fixed his mirrors, Castiel stared nervously out of the windsheild, his foot firmly on the brake.

"Alright, man, let's see what you've got." Dean coaxed. Castiel only knew one thing about how cars go and that was to press on the gas pedal. So that's what he did. But, when the car lurched too much for him on the first try, his foot refound the brake.

"Dean." He looked toward his friend with anxiety written all over his face. He'd done something wrong. Instead of laughing at him, or scolding him, Dean only held up his hands.

"Relax, Cas. That's why I'm here to help." The angel was instantly relieved.

"Now," Dean went on, "She may like it rough but, this is you two's first time so you gotta be gentle with her." Castiel always felt awkward when Dean gave his car a gender and made innuendos like this but, he tried not to let it show. "Slowly let your foot off the brake. Start with that."

Castiel nodded and turned back to the road. Very easily, he let his foot off the brake, letting the car begin to roll along. Eventually the Impala built up to a speed of about ten miles an hour. Castiel finally released the breath he'd been holding and Dean nodded in approval.

"Alright, now just concentrate on keeping her between the lines. Don't ever go into that other lane." Castiel knew that much but he didn't say anything. "When you're ready, give her a _little_ bit of gas. Gentle, man, gentle." Castiel nodded and licked his dry lips. He still could taste a bit of blood on them. With extreme caution, he put his foot on the gas and pressed as lightly as he could. Beneath him he heard the engine purr as _she_ kicked up the power. Beside him, Dean was nodding. More pressure on the gas, more purring from the Impala and more speed on the spedometer.

Now he was going at least thirty and it wasn't as boring as he'd thought it would be.

"Good job, man." Dean said, obviously delighted, "Sammy was never this good on his first try." Instantly Castiel felt prideful. It made him realize he needed a little more speed. Dean couldn't be happier. For once, Castiel was actually _getting_ it. And he was. Castiel was actually enjoying himself the more the number on the spedometer rose. Soon he was going faster than Dean himself had, going up to nintey. He couldn't believe how wrong he'd been about cars. Well...besides the fact that they were still quite slow compared to his usual form of travel but, this feeling he was having..it was amazing! An adrenaline rush! The rumble of the engine, the speed, the way he could hear the air outside splitting and rushing past the sides of the car. His hands were tight on the wheel, his eyes focused on the road ahead. A light drizzle had begun to spot the windsheild but this didn't worry him. If he pushed it far enough, he could outrun even the rain. The corners of his mouth were twitching, begging him just to smile already.

At this point the road was completley straight so Dean didn't worry too much about the speed of the Impala.

Well...until the sirens.

At first, Castiel ignored them, not realizing what they actually were and too concentrated on the road. It wasn't until Dean actually said anything that he thought maybe he should slow down.

"Dude, pull over. Easy on the brake, though. Gradual." Castiel nodded, his nervousness back tenfold. When finally he had pulled over on the side of the road, he shot Dean a look of pure panic and this time Dean couldn't help but laugh. The look on Castiel's face was just too priceless.

"What do I do?" Castiel asked, frantically looking behind them at the officer stepping out from his own vehicle.

"Show him your license? Oh wait..." Dean laughed again, this time at his own joke. Castiel found this less amusing, watching in horror as the officer approached the car. Dean blinked and his friend was gone from the drivers seat. He glanced around quickly, not believing that he had just left him there to deal with the officer but, when he refound him, he couldn't help but break into a hard fit of laughter. Castiel had appeared before the officer, two fingers pressed against his head until he was on the ground. That go-to-sleep thing was pretty handy now that the hunter thought about it. Then Castiel was outside his door, opening it and staring at the Winchester, mortified.

"What? You don't want to drive anymore?" Dean asked, taking notice of the embarrassed flush of red that had appeared on the angel's face. Castiel shook his head, casting his eyes to the ground. Dean hoisted himself out the seat, chuckling to himself as he rounded back toward the driver's side. He expected Castiel to zap off somewhere to relieve some of his embarrassment but, he got back into the car instead, sinking into the passenger seat. When back behind the wheel, Dean checked his rearview mirror, looking at the fallen officer. Eh, he'd be fine. It was about time to head back toward the motel anyway.

"You're a real speed demon, aren't ya, Cas?" Dean smiled at the angel but, Castiel couldn't bring himself to look up. He was holding Dean's bloodied shirt again, toying with it in his fingers to find something else to focus on.

"I'm sorry..." He mumbled, facing out the window. He was startled when he felt a sudden clap on his shoulder.

"No need to apologize, Cas. It was the first time. Things always get outta hand the first time. That's just her seduction. Leaves you begging for more." Castiel averted his gaze, embarrassed again by how Dean explained the mannerisms of his car.

"Looks like a thunderstorm..." Dean commented, noting the speed of the falling raindrops. Castiel nodded, making some noise of agreement.

"Think it may be demons?"

"Perhaps..." Castiel answered. After that it was silence again. Until they were close to getting back into town.

"Dean...?"

"Yeah?"

"I think...I'd like to...try again.."

Dean's mouth turned into a knowing smile before his foot found the brake pedal once more.


End file.
